Last Wednesday I wrote about how Agile teams need middle managers that challenge higher management. This proved to be a divisive position.
While many agreed with me, I also got pushback. Some objected to the wording I used. Challenging someone can have multiple meanings indeed. Let me clarify here that I don’t mean questioning someone's authority. I also don’t mean you should challenge someone to compete with you.
When I say middle management should challenge higher management, I meant: to challenge them “to express doubt about the truth of a position they have” and “to encourage someone to verify their ideas”.
While some objected to the wording, others even resisted expressing doubt or encouraging higher management to verify their ideas. As in: you better do what they say, or you will suffer the consequences.
When middle management doesn’t have the opportunity or willingness to challenge higher management in this way, what does this say about the organization? And how does this relate to being a company that says they are Agile?
Agile is all about challenging assumptions. Regardless if these assumptions come from the team or from the CEO. If you wish to embrace the fact that you don’t know upfront what will bring you closer to the goals, you have to acknowledge this doesn’t exempt higher management. Just like I wrote recently, in complex environments, you don’t know what the future brings.
Therefore, when your Agile teams are held back by factors external to the teams, these should be addressed and resolved. Agile teams can only do so much when they have to deal with issues like unproductive approval processes, individual contradicting appraisals, unproductive HR policies or management on output only.
This is why I applaud organizations that empower their people to challenge higher management and are open to changing their ways accordingly. But when this isn’t the case, I believe it is still important to find ways to challenge them.
The road will be longer, I may be more indirect. But not doing anything about it is no option. Because your Agile teams will then be set up for mediocrity. And I highly doubt mediocrity will win over potential customers or benefit the company in the long run.
To clarify, Agile only is a means to achieve your objectives. Whenever I express the desire to be Agile, it is in service of these objectives.